Improvement in boots and shoes



UNITED STATES i ATENT Fries.

IMPROVEMENT IN BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 47,0l0. dated March 28, 1865.

T0 all whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that I, B. D. GODFREY, of Milford, county of IVorcester, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in the Construction ot Boots land Shoes; and I do hereby declare that the following, taken in connection with the drawings which accompany and form partof this specification, is a description of said invention, sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to practice it.

In many boots and shoes, especially those worn by workingmen about mining and farming operations, the vamps of said boots and shoes are exposed to abrasive contact with sharp stones, sand, silicious covered grasses, stubble, 85e., all along and around the Vamps, front of the instep ofthe foot, at or near that part of the vamp where it joins the sole. To prevent such wear from opening holes through the toe, caps or tips of leather have been long used, making the vamps at the toe double. More recently tips of rubber or of metal have been extensively used to protect the toe partof the vamps, said tips being formed ready for application and use, and being specific articles of manufacture, requiring no forming or shaping in the place which they occupy, but only fastening thereon.

By my invention I not only accomplish all that has been accomplished by the cap and tip before named, but I protect the Vamps all along the sides ot' the boot or shoe in that part where it is apt to be cut or worn through.

M y invention consists in a boot or shoe in which the welt or that part ot' the sole which makes the layer next to the vamp is so cut and applied that it constitutes a guard or fender for the vamp all around the front part of the boot or shoe. This guard may be variously finished, as may be seen by reference to the drawings, in which- Figures l and 2 represent cross-sections of the sole and a portion of the vamp of a boot or shoe embodying my invention.

In both gures, a represents the vamp, b the inner sole, c the outer sole, d the middle sole, or the layer next to the vamp, and e a welt-piece.

On the right of Fig. l the welt-piece e is shown as turned upward and as nished with a round or beaded edge, while stud-nails are driven close together into the Welt-piece, ornamenting it and protecting it from the roughest usage.

On the left of Fig. I the welt is .shown as but very slightly turned upward, and it has the row of protecting studnails.

0n the right of Fig. 2 a welt-pieceis shown very similar to that above it in Fig. l, the only difference being a slight one of finish.

On the left of Flg. 2 the middle-sole lift77 or layer is shown as turned upward and as without the row of stud-nails.

IVhen the weltpiece e, or the first outersole lift, d, is to be ornamented or protected by the stud-nails f, these are driven while the projecting part off or d, is about parallel with the face or tread of the sole as they can then be clinched if long enough to pass through the pieces e or d. If it is desired to turn this protecting piece or guard up around the vamp, it is done while the sole, or heavy leather out of which it is cut, is moist or in temper.77

I wish it distinctly understood that I do not claim a metallic or rubber shoe-tip as such, nor do I claim the application of such tips or guards in the manufacture of boots or shoes, as in my construction the guard is formed from or by an extension of the ordinary weltpiece, or a part of the vsole itself. Neither do l claim the application or employment of studnails for protection, as their use is well known, and they may or may not be employed in my construction, as circumstances or fancy may dictate or require.

I claim- A boot or shoe having a construction substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 7th day of January, A. D. 1865.

BENJ. D. GODFREY. Witnesses:

J. B. CROSBY, 'FRANCIS GoULD. 

